System and methods for providing cooling to an interior of a container

ABSTRACT

Described herein is a method of providing cooling to a storage container. The method including the steps of providing a feed of a liquid and at least one pack; cooling the feed to a slurry temperature to provide a slurry feed; dividing at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed to provide at least one refrigerant portion; housing at least one refrigerant portion in a corresponding pack to provide the at least one refrigeration pack; and, enclosing the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container to cool an interior space of the storage container.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This present application is a continuation of PCT Application No. PCT/CA2020/050428 filed Apr. 1, 2020, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/827,414 filed on Apr. 1, 2019, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate to the field of refrigeration, in particular, the field of refrigeration packs and methods of using refrigeration packs to provide cooling to an interior of a container.

BACKGROUND

Refrigeration packs are widely used in the food industry for keeping food items such as meat, beverages, and produce cool during, for example, storage or transport. Food items may need to be kept cold during storage or transport to keep them from spoiling.

SUMMARY

This summary is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the applicant's teaching, but not to define any specific embodiments. In general, disclosed herein are one or more methods for proving cooling to an interior of a container.

In a first aspect, some embodiments of the invention provide a method of providing cooling to a storage container, the method including providing a feed of a liquid and at least one pack; cooling the feed to a slurry temperature within a freezing temperature range of the liquid to provide a slurry feed, the slurry feed comprising a liquid component and a frozen component; dividing at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed, to provide at least one refrigerant portion; for each refrigerant portion of the at least one refrigerant portion, housing that refrigerant portion in a corresponding pack of the at least one pack to provide the at least one refrigeration pack; enclosing at least one item to be stored within an interior space of the storage container; and, enclosing the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container to cool the interior space of the storage container and the at least one item to be stored.

In some embodiments, the storage container i) can be openable to receive the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be stored, ii) can be closable to enclose the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be stored, and iii) can be insulated against heat transfer from the interior space to an exterior of the storage container when the storage container is closed.

In some embodiments, the at least one item to be stored can be different from the at least one refrigeration pack.

In some embodiments, the at least one item to be stored can be a liquid food item selected from a group comprising pop, juice, and milk.

In some embodiments, the at least one item to be stored can be a solid food item selected from a group comprising fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and solid dairy products.

In some embodiments, dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed may include putting the at least one refrigerant portion, in slurry form, into the at least one pack.

In some embodiments, the method may include after housing the at least one refrigerant portion in the at least one pack, further cooling the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack to convert the at least one refrigerant portion from the slurry form to a solid form.

In some embodiments, further cooling the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack may include moving the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack through a cooling tunnel.

In some embodiments, the refrigerant portion in the at least one pack can be in slurry form when received and enclosed in the storage container.

In some embodiments, the at least one pack can be malleable, such that the at least one refrigeration pack containing the refrigerant portion in the slurry form can be malleable, the method can include shaping at least part of a surface of the at least one refrigeration pack to conform to at least part of a corresponding surface of an item of the at least one item enclosed in the storage container.

In some embodiments, the method may include vibrating the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container to impede separation of the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack into a liquid fraction and a solid fraction.

In some embodiments, vibrating the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container can include vibrating the storage container to vibrate the at least one refrigeration pack contained therein.

In some embodiments, the method can include after dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed converting the at least one slurry portion to solid form to provide the at least one refrigerant portion; and then, putting the at least one refrigerant portion, in the solid form, into the at least one pack.

In some embodiments, converting the at least one slurry portion to solid form to provide the at least one refrigerant portion can include, for each slurry portion of the at least one slurry portion, compressing that slurry portion to squeeze water out of that slurry portion to provide the at least one refrigerant portion in solid form.

In some embodiments, for each slurry portion of the at least one slurry portion, compressing that slurry portion to provide the at least one refrigerant portion in solid form, can include shaping the at least one refrigerant portion to fit within the at least one pack.

In some embodiments, the at least one pack may include at least one liner, each liner of the at least one liner being attachable to an interior surface of the storage container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages of the instant invention will be more fully and completely understood in conjunction with the following detailed description of embodiments and aspects of the present invention with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1, in a flow chart, illustrates a method for providing cooling to an interior of a storage container;

FIG. 2, in a flow chart, illustrates an alternative method for providing cooling to an interior of a storage container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, in a flow chart, illustrates an alternative method for providing cooling to an interior of a storage container of FIG. 1, comprising additional steps between dividing the slurry portion from the slurry feed and housing the refrigerant portion in a pack;

FIG. 4, in a flow chart, illustrates an alternative method for providing cooling to an interior of a storage container.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

It will be appreciated that numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the example embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, this description and the drawings are not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein in any way, but rather as merely describing the implementation of the various embodiments described herein.

Reference is first made to FIG. 1, in which a method 100 for providing cooling to a storage container is shown. Method 100 may begin at 102, in which a feed of a liquid and at least one pack is provided. The feed of a liquid may be, for example, a feed of water from a water supply such as a tap. In other examples, the feed of a liquid may be a feed of a solution from a vat or container. A solution may be a combination of multiple liquids, chemicals, for example, refrigerants and freeze point suppressant additives, and/or other solutes.

In some examples of method 100, the at least one pack may be at least one bag made out of a plastic such as nylon, high-density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, or linear low-density polyethylene. In other examples, the at least one pack may be made of an alternative liquid retaining material. In other examples of the method 100, the at least one pack may be a hard plastic container. In yet another example of the method 100, the at least one pack may comprise at least one liner. Each liner of the at least one liner may be attachable to an interior surface of the storage container. For example, each liner of the at least one liner may attach to a sidewall of the storage container so that the sidewall of the storage container holds the at least one pack in place. In other examples, the at least one pack including the at least one liner may be integrally formed with the storage container.

At step 104, the feed may be cooled to a slurry temperature within a freezing temperature range of the liquid to provide a slurry feed having both a solid component and a liquid component.

The slurry feed can be at least partly defined by its ice fraction and its temperature. The temperature of the slurry feed may partly depend on composition of the feed. For example, if the feed includes an additive to suppress the freezing point of the feed, the percentage and type of additive used may affect the temperature of the slurry feed: adding freeze suppressants can enable the temperature of the slurry feed to be further reduced by reducing the temperature at which the slurry solution transitions from liquid to solid. The ice fraction within the slurry feed can also depend on the length of time during which the feed is circulated in the slurry making machine and a flow rate at which the feed enters the slurry making machine.

Different slurry making machines known in the art may be used to convert the feed of a liquid to the slurry feed. For example, Ice Generator IG-48-10-120 available from IceGen Corp. at 145 Shields Court, Toronto, Ontario, L3R 9T5 Canada may be used to cool the feed to produce a slurry feed. Other slurry making machines, such as the machine described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,939 (Lyon et al.) or U.S. Pat. No. 7,788,943 (Mogilevsky) could also be used.

At step 106, at least one slurry portion may be formed by dividing the slurry feed. Dividing at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed may provide at least one refrigerant portion. Examples of how the at least one slurry portion may be divided from the slurry feed are discussed in more detail below. That being said, the examples discussed below are for exemplary purposes only and are not meant to limit the means by which the at least one slurry portion may be formed by dividing the slurry feed.

At step 108, each refrigerant portion of the at least one refrigerant portion can be housed in a corresponding pack of the at least one pack. Housing each refrigerant portion in a corresponding pack can provide at least one refrigeration pack.

In some examples, step 106 of dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed to provide at least one refrigerant portion can be completed by putting the at least one refrigerant portion, in slurry form, into the at least one pack.

At step 110 of the method 100 for providing cooling to a storage container, the at least one refrigeration pack can be enclosed within the storage container to be cooled. With the at least one refrigeration pack enclosed within the storage container, the at least one refrigeration pack can cool an interior space of the storage container. At least one item to be stored may also be placed within the storage container and can be kept cool by the refrigeration pack. In some examples, the at least one refrigeration pack can be placed within the storage container prior to the at least one item to be kept cool, and in other examples the at least one item to be kept cool can be placed within the storage container prior to the at least one refrigeration pack. In yet another example, the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be kept cool are placed in the storage container simultaneously.

In some examples of method 100, the at least one item to be stored can be different from the at least one refrigeration pack. For example, the at least one item to be stored can be a liquid food item selected from a group comprising pop, juice, and milk. In another example, the at least one item to be stored can be a solid food item selected from a group comprising fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and solid dairy products (such as cheese). In yet another example, the at least one item to be stored is at least two different liquid food items. In another example, the at least one item to be stored is at least two different solid food items. In yet another example, the at least one item to be stored is at least one liquid food item and at least one solid food item.

In some examples, the storage container is openable to receive the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be stored. In other examples, the storage can be closeable to enclose the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be store. In another example, the storage container can be insulated against heat transfer from the interior space to an exterior of the storage container when the storage container is closed. In yet another example, the storage container can be openable, closeable, and insulated.

As was described above, in some examples of the method 100, dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed includes putting the at least one refrigerant portion, in slurry form, into the at least one pack. In this, and other, examples of method 100, after putting the at least one refrigerant portion into the at least one pack, an additional step of cooling the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack may be performed. Cooling the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack can convert the at least one refrigerant portion from a slurry form to a solid form.

In examples of method 100, wherein the at least one refrigerant portion is converted from a slurry form to a solid form within the pack, the method 100 may further include the step of moving the at least one refrigerant portion and at least one pack through a cooling tunnel. Moving the at least one refrigerant portion and the at least one pack through a cooling tunnel can further cool the at least one refrigerant portion to convert it from a slurry form to a solid form.

In examples of method 100, wherein the at least one refrigerant portion is converted from a slurry form to a solid form within the at least one pack, the at least one pack may be left open or may be sealed prior to cooling the at least one refrigerant portion. In examples where the at least one pack is left open, the at least one refrigerant portion may be sized to fit within the at least one pack after expansion of the at least one refrigerant portion caused by freezing. In examples where the at least one pack is closed prior to converting the at least one refrigerant portion from a slurry form to a solid form the at least one pack may include a vent to allow air to escape the at least one pack as the at least one refrigerant portion expands. In other examples where the at least one pack is closed prior to freezing, the at least one pack may be flexible or stretchable to allow the at least one refrigerant portion to expand as it freezes.

In another example of method 100, after the at least one refrigerant portion is converted from a slurry form to a solid form, the at least one refrigeration pack can be enclosed within the storage container.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in other examples of method 100, the at least one refrigerant portion may be in a slurry form when received by the storage container, step 112. In examples of method 100 where the at least one refrigerant portion is in slurry form when received in the storage container 112, the at least one pack may be malleable, and the at least one pack containing the at least one refrigerant portion in slurry form may also be malleable (the pack may be made, for example, using a flexible plastic). In examples where the at least one refrigeration pack is malleable, the method 100 may include the step 114 of shaping at least a part of a surface of the at least one refrigeration pack to conform to a shape of, or at least part of a corresponding surface of, an item of the at least one item enclosed in the storage container.

In any of the examples of method 100 described above, the method 100 may include the step 116 of vibrating the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container to impede separation of the slurry of the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack into a liquid fraction and a solid fraction. In some examples, the at least one refrigeration pack itself may be vibrated, and in other examples, the at least one storage container with the at least one pack therein may be vibrated to vibrate the at least one refrigeration pack. Although the vibration step 116 is shown in FIG. 2 to occur within the enclosing step 110 this may not be case in alternative examples of the method 100. For example, the at least one refrigeration pack may be vibrated to impede separation of the at least one refrigeration portion within the at least one pack prior to the at least one refrigeration pack being inserted into the storage container. In other examples, the at least one refrigeration pack may be vibrated before and after being enclosed within the storage container, by, for example, directly vibrating the at least one refrigeration pack itself before insertion into the storage container, and, after the at least one refrigeration pack is inserted into the storage container, vibrating the storage container to impart vibrations to the at least one refrigeration pack to impede separation of the liquid and solid components of the slurry of the at least one refrigeration portion within the at least one refrigeration pack.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in another example of the method 100, after dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed, an additional step 106 a may be performed in which the slurry portion can be converted from a slurry form to a solid form. The refrigerant portion, in a solid form, can then be put into the at least one pack at step 108.

To convert the at least one slurry portion from a slurry form to a solid form, the at least one slurry portion can be compressed to squeeze water out of that slurry portion to yield a solid portion. Compressing the at least one slurry portion to squeeze water out of that slurry portion can thus provide at the least one refrigerant portion in a solid form.

In some examples of method 100, the at least one slurry portion can be compressed to form a shape to fit within the at least one pack. At step 108, the at least one compressed slurry portion shaped to fit within the at least one pack can be housed within the at least one pack.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternative method 200 for providing cooling to a storage container is described. Similar to method 100, in method 200 a feed of liquid is provided and converted into a slurry feed which can be divided into at least one refrigerant portion or multiple refrigerant portions 202, 204, 206. In method 200, rather than housing the at least one refrigerant portion in at least one refrigerant pack, the at least one refrigerant portion can be enclosed within the storage container, step 208. In method 200 at least one item can also be enclosed within the storage container at step 208. The at least one item can be inserted into the container before, after, or simultaneous to the insertion of the at least one refrigerant portion into the container.

In method 200, the at least one refrigerant portion can be in slurry form when enclosed in the storage container and can conform to the shape of the at least one item also placed within the storage container. These items may include, for example, bottles of juice or pop. The at least one refrigerant portion of method 200 may allow for increased heat transfer from the at least one item to the at least one refrigerant portion as compared to the heat transfer from the at least one item to the at least one refrigerant pack of method 100. The heat transfer capability may be better in method 200 than in method 100 as there is no pack to reduce the heat transfer and the at least one refrigerant portion may better conform to the shape of the at least one item which can promote heat transfer.

In another example of method 200, the container having the at least one refrigerant portion and the at least one item to be cooled may be exposed to the cold to freeze at least a portion of the at least one refrigerant portion. In some examples, the at least one refrigerant portion and the at least one item to be kept cool may both be frozen.

In another method for providing cooling to a storage container, at least one refrigerant portion in slurry form may be supplied to the container before any of the at least one items to be kept cool are placed within the container. A mold may then be inserted into the at least one refrigerant portion within the container. The mold may be shaped to correspond to the form of the at least one item to be kept cool. For example, if cylindrical bottles are to be kept cool, then the mold may define a number of cylindrical forms whose dimensions substantially match those of the bottles. With the mold inserted into the at least one refrigerant portion, the at least one refrigerant portion may be converted from a slurry form to a solid form. After the at least one refrigerant portion is converted from a slurry form to a solid form, the mold may be removed, leaving a space corresponding to the mold shape in at least one refrigerant portion. Subsequently, at least one item, such as bottles, may then be inserted into these spaces, and the storage container may be closed.

Alternatively, the mold can be shaped to provide a large interior space that can accommodate multiple items to be kept cool. In this embodiment, slurry around the sides of the storage container can be frozen into solid form, but a relatively large interior space can be left open to receive the multiple items to be kept cool. Then these multiple items can be inserted into this interior space, and additional slurry added so that the interior space can be mostly, or even almost entirely, occupied by the combination of the additional slurry and the multiple items.

In some examples of the method described above, the mold may be provided with heat transfer capabilities to assist with converting the at least one refrigerant portion from a slurry form to a solid form. In some examples, the mold may also be capable of heating, so that it may melt part of the at least one refrigerant portion in the solid form to aid in the removal of the mold from the at least one refrigerant portion in solid form. In another embodiment, a high-frequency low amplitude vibration may be used to separate the mold from the at least one refrigerant portion in the solid form. In yet another example, the mold may be made of an ice-phobic material to allow the mold to be removed from the at least one refrigeration portion in solid form.

The present invention has been described here by way of example only. Various modification and variations may be made to these exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is limited only by the appended claims. 

We claim:
 1. A method of providing cooling to a storage container, the method comprising providing a feed of a liquid and at least one pack; cooling the feed to a slurry temperature within a freezing temperature range of the liquid to provide a slurry feed, the slurry feed comprising a liquid component and a frozen component; dividing at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed, to provide at least one refrigerant portion; for each refrigerant portion of the at least one refrigerant portion, housing that refrigerant portion in a corresponding pack of the at least one pack to provide the at least one refrigeration pack; enclosing at least one item to be stored within an interior space of the storage container; and, enclosing the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container to cool the interior space of the storage container and the at least one item to be stored.
 2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the storage container i) is openable to receive the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be stored, ii) is closable to enclose the at least one refrigeration pack and the at least one item to be stored, and iii) is insulated against heat transfer from the interior space to an exterior of the storage container when the storage container is closed.
 3. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one item to be stored is different from the at least one refrigeration pack.
 4. The method as defined in claim 3 wherein the at least one item to be stored is a liquid food item selected from a group comprising pop, juice, and milk.
 5. The method as defined in claim 3 wherein the at least one item to be stored is a solid food item selected from a group comprising fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and solid dairy products.
 6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed comprises putting the at least one refrigerant portion, in slurry form, into the at least one pack.
 7. The method as defined in claim 6 further comprising, after housing the at least one refrigerant portion in the at least one pack, further cooling the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack to convert the at least one refrigerant portion from the slurry form to a solid form.
 8. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein further cooling the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack comprises moving the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack through a cooling tunnel.
 9. The method as defined in claim 6 wherein the refrigerant portion in the at least one pack is in slurry form when received and enclosed in the storage container.
 10. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein the at least one pack is malleable, such that the at least one refrigeration pack containing the refrigerant portion in the slurry form is malleable, the method further comprising shaping at least part of a surface of the at least one refrigeration pack to conform to at least part of a corresponding surface of an item of the at least one item enclosed in the storage container.
 11. The method as defined in claim 9 or 10 further comprising vibrating the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container to impede separation of the at least one refrigerant portion within the at least one pack into a liquid fraction and a solid fraction.
 12. The method as defined in claim 11 wherein vibrating the at least one refrigeration pack within the storage container comprises vibrating the storage container to vibrate the at least one refrigeration pack contained therein.
 13. The method as defined in claim 1 further comprising, after dividing the at least one slurry portion from the slurry feed converting the at least one slurry portion to solid form to provide the at least one refrigerant portion; and then, putting the at least one refrigerant portion, in the solid form, into the at least one pack.
 14. The method as defined in claim 13 wherein converting the at least one slurry portion to solid form to provide the at least one refrigerant portion comprises, for each slurry portion of the at least one slurry portion, compressing that slurry portion to squeeze water out of that slurry portion to provide the at least one refrigerant portion in solid form.
 15. The method as defined in claim 14 wherein, for each slurry portion of the at least one slurry portion, compressing that slurry portion to provide the at least one refrigerant portion in solid form, comprises shaping the at least one refrigerant portion to fit within the at least one pack.
 16. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one pack comprises at least one liner, each liner of the at least one liner being attachable to an interior surface of the storage container. 